Killed: Darren Kelly, 42, was lured to his death by a 'vigilante' gang who mistakenly believed he was a paedophile, a court heard today

A 'vigilante' gang of youths were spotted hiding in park bushes moments before luring a father-of-one to his death in the mistaken belief he was a paedophile.

Darren Kelly, 42, thought he was meeting with a woman he had been chatting via an online dating app in the week leading up to his murder.

But instead, the lorry driver was jumped upon and punched, kicked and then stabbed by a gang of four including Chris Carroll, 20, and three teenagers who cannot be named for legal reasons, a jury was told.

Off-duty police community support officer Emma Spurr told the court she was walking home shortly after 9pm when she saw a group of youths hiding in the park.

Some of them appeared to be concealing themselves behind trees and bushes.

'It made me feel nervous and I wanted to get home as quickly as possible,' she said.

Witnesses described seeing Mr Kelly running for his life as one of his attackers allegedly shouted 'he's a paedo'. But the gang are said to have caught up with him after chasing their alleged victim through the street.

Mr Kelly was stabbed six times, including two wounds to his lung, and died later in Basildon Hospital.

After the alleged attack, the group of youths are said to have gone into a house and ordered pizza.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard Mr Kelly regularly used the internet app Whisper to meet up with women for sex but there was no evidence to show he was interested in underage girls.

Carroll, 20, from Pitsea, Essex, is accused of murder, along with a 17-year-old boy, also from Pitsea, a 17-year-old boy from Basildon, Essex, and a 16-year-old girl from Pitsea.

The four are jointly charged with killing Mr Kelly on the evening of October 20 last year, and all deny murder.

They appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court today and sat alongside each other in the dock with a security guard behind each of them.

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Crispin Aylett QC, prosecuting, said: 'This, you may come to think, is a terrible case that is as disturbing as it is extraordinary.

'The prosecution allege that last October, at a time when the defendants were 15, 16, 17 and 20, the four of them - at the instigation of the first defendant [the then 15-year-old girl] - formed a group of vigilantes in order to attack a 42-year-old man.'

The jury of eight men and four women heard how Mr Kelly was punched, kicked and then stabbed to death.

Mr Aylett said: 'In the minutes leading up to the murder, as the defendants were seen chasing Mr Kelly through an alleyway, a passer-by asked what was going on.

'Chris Carroll called out "he is a paedophile".'

On trial: Chris Carroll (pictured), 20, from Pitsea, Essex, is accused of the murder of Mr Kelly, along with a 17-year-old boy, also from Pitsea, a 17-year-old boy from Basildon, and a 16-year-old girl from Pitsea

The court heard there was absolutely no evidence - other than claims from the female defendant - that Mr Kelly was interested in underage girls. In fact detectives found conversations with various women in which he said they were too young for him as he was looking for a partner who was over the age of 45.

Messages recovered by police suggested that Mr Kelly may in fact have believed he was meeting an adult, possibly the mother of the schoolgirl defendant.

'Whilst, certainly, it was the case Mr Kelly had used the internet to meet people for sex, there was nothing to suggest Mr Kelly had been interested in underage girls,' Mr Aylett added.

A witness described how the gang punched and kicked Mr Kelly to the ground before Carroll was allegedly heard saying 'Leave it to me'. He was seen bending down as if to stab him, the court was told

On the day of the murder, the teenage girl defendant arranged to meet Mr Kelly outside her school.

The other defendants, along with a 13-year-old girl - who was arrested but later released without charge - gathered nearby, with some of them hiding in bushes.

When he arrived, the group started to punch and kick him and Carroll slashed the tyres on his car, Mr Aylett said.

Mr Kelly managed to run away but the group chased after him. Witnesses described seeing him running for his life.

Mr Aylett said: 'In the moments leading up to the murder, as they were chasing him through an alleyway, a passer-by asked the group what was going on.

'Perhaps indicating the inflamed sense of self-righteousness shared by the others, Chris Carroll shouted out "He's a paedo".'

Another witness described how they punched and kicked him to the ground before Carroll was allegedly heard saying 'Leave it to me'. He was seen bending down as if to stab him, the court was told.

Mr Kelly managed to get help from residents at a nearby block of flats. But he had been stabbed six times and died later in hospital.

After the alleged attack, the group went to a house and ordered pizza. The two teenage boys were later handed in to police by their parents.

When officers arrived at a house to find Carroll and the girl, the court was told he tried to escape while she shouted: 'Do I look like a murderer?'

Scene: Mr Kelly, 42, thought he was meeting with a woman he had been chatting to online in the week leading up to his murder. But instead he was allegedly set upon by a gang of four in Basildon, Essex (pictured)

Mr Aylett said text messages later showed that Carroll was besotted with the girl.

One said: 'I know you're not ready for a relationship but I'm going to wait for you.

'I'm not going to quit until you're mine.'

After the teenage schoolgirl was arrested she told the police she had on two earlier occasions set up meetings with older men in order that they might be arrested.

She told how she had met the men online - through Facebook - before calling the police.

The teenager was asked what she hoped to achieve and told officers it was 'to get them arrested because they were perverts and I don't think perverts should be walking around.

'I don't see anyone else doing anything about it.'

In March 2014, when the defendant was just 14, she met a 23-year-old man - referred to in court as 'H'.

The court heard they had taken part in sexually explicit exchanges with the man telling the defendant he was going to rape her. The teenager turned up at the scene and met with the man.

Police were called to the scene and the man was arrested on suspicion of sexual grooming.

Witnesses described seeing Mr Kelly (pictured) running for his life as one of his attackers allegedly shouted 'he's a paedo'. But the gang are said to have caught up with him after chasing after their alleged victim

In May last year the schoolgirl received a Facebook friend request from a 67-year-old man who then followed it up with a message.

The two lied about their ages with the teenager initially saying she was 25 but later admitted she was only 15.

By August the man's messages became 'more intimate' and the pair agreed to meet in September at Tesco in Pitsea.

The teenager met with the man - referred to as only 'C' - whilst her friend stood by and the pair began shouting at C, telling him it was wrong to meet up with young girls.

A passer-by spotted the altercation and called the police and C was arrested.

There is nothing to suggest that Mr Kelly was interested in underage girls and plenty of evidence which shows the opposite

Crispin Aylett QC, prosecuting

Mr Aylett said it appeared the teenager had been running a 'campaign against paedophiles' but lost patience with the police and the court system.

Mr Kelly, who had a daughter, had separated from his wife.

After the murder, police searched his address and found an old mobile phone he had been using in 2014.

He was using an app named 'Whisper' in order to make contact with people on the internet.

He used photographs of different men as well as different ages for himself and from time to time he arranged to meet adult women for sex.

'There is nothing to suggest that Mr Kelly was interested in underage girls and plenty of evidence which shows the opposite,' Mr Aylett said.

The jury heard how on one occasion he was exchanging messages with a 22-year-old but then told her he was looking for someone older.

His phone also showed evidence of how he had commented to another woman 'So sick - all the kids on here.'

And he said to one teen: 'Was hoping you was older.'

The four are jointly charged with killing lorry driver Mr Kelly in Basildon on the evening of October 20 last year

The teenage defendant used the the Whisper app to make contact with Mr Kelly and then set-up the meeting.

The phone that Mr Kelly had been using to contact the teenager has never been recovered.

A second phone was found but it was not the one used to exchange messages with the female defendant.

When the teenager was arrested, police seized her iPad mini which had been locked.

She later provided the code but admitted to police she had deleted the app on which she made contact with Mr Kelly.

Only two messages survived - those which were sent on to Chris Carroll.

Mr Aylett added: 'Neither of the messages supported the defendant's claim. What is left suggested Mr Kelly had been looking for an older partner'.

In the minutes leading up to Mr Kelly's murder she sent a series of text messages to her co-defendants as she discussed the imminent meeting.